This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/technology/live/2018/sep/05/facebook-sheryl-sandberg-twitter-congress-russia
The article has changed 12 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| Twitter's Jack Dorsey faces more questions as Google snubs Congress – live | Twitter's Jack Dorsey faces more questions as Google snubs Congress – live |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Dorsey addresses the “shadowbanning” scandal, which was actually an issue of certain accounts not appearing in auto-complete results. | |
| Our technology was using a decision making criteria that considers the behavior of people following these accounts. We decided that wasn’t fair, and corrected. We‘ll always improve our technology and algorithms to drive healthier usage, and measure the impartiality of outcomes. | |
| More from the opening statement: | |
| “Our early and strong defense of open and free exchange has enabled Twitter to be THE platform for activists, marginalized communities, whistleblowers, journalists, governments and the most influential people around the world. Twitter will always default to open and free exchange. A default to free expression left unchecked can generate risks and dangers for people. It’s important Twitter distinguishes between people’s opinions and behaviors, and disarms behavior intending to silence another person, or adversely interfere with their universal human rights.” | |
| Jack Dorsey is now offering his opening statement: As he did this morning, he is reading the statement off his phone and simultaneously tweet-storming it. | |
| Here’s the beginning of the Twitter thread: | |
| Thank you Chairman Walden, Ranking Member Pallone, and the committee, for the opportunity to speak on behalf of Twitter to the American people. I look forward to our conversation about our commitment to impartiality, transparency, and accountability. | |
| Pallone: This hearing appears to be just one more mechanism to raise money and generate outrage. | |
| Nevertheless, Pallone says, Twitter has issues and should be better at dealing with misinformation and abuse. | |
| Frank Pallone of New Jersey, the Democratic ranking member, begins his opening statement by criticizing Trump for drumming up “conspiracy theories” about Twitter. He says he hopes this hearing won’t focus on that. | |
| And then Walden gets to the “but...”, raising Vice New’s specious report about “shadowbanning” in July. Here’s our article addressing the “shadowban” theory, and explaining what was actually happening. | |
| Chairman Greg Walden is opening things up by talking about how important Twitter is. He references the Arab Spring and calls the service “truly revolutionary in the way the Gutenberg press was revolutionary”. | |
| Ok we’re getting underway! | |
| We’re now waiting for the House Committee on Energy and Commerce’s hearing to begin. They’re running a bit behind schedule. | |
| Directly after this morning’s hearing ended, the Department of Justice announced that attorney general Jeff Sessions “has convened a meeting with a number of state attorneys general this month to discuss a growing concern that these companies may be hurting competition and intentionally stifling the free exchange of ideas on their platforms.” | Directly after this morning’s hearing ended, the Department of Justice announced that attorney general Jeff Sessions “has convened a meeting with a number of state attorneys general this month to discuss a growing concern that these companies may be hurting competition and intentionally stifling the free exchange of ideas on their platforms.” |
| NEW: DOJ says Jeff Sessions will meet with state attorneys general to discuss “growing concern" that social media companies "may be hurting competition and intentionally stifling the free exchange of ideas on their platforms.” pic.twitter.com/5SZkW54thr | NEW: DOJ says Jeff Sessions will meet with state attorneys general to discuss “growing concern" that social media companies "may be hurting competition and intentionally stifling the free exchange of ideas on their platforms.” pic.twitter.com/5SZkW54thr |
| Another major issue, especially for Senators Marco Rubio and Tom Cotton, was the degree to which Facebook, Twitter and Google should be aligned with American interests. | Another major issue, especially for Senators Marco Rubio and Tom Cotton, was the degree to which Facebook, Twitter and Google should be aligned with American interests. |
| Rubio pressed Sandberg and Dorsey to “link your company to the values of this country” and pressed them not to comply with request from “authoritarian regimes”. | Rubio pressed Sandberg and Dorsey to “link your company to the values of this country” and pressed them not to comply with request from “authoritarian regimes”. |
| Looming over the hearing were recent reports that Google is working on a censored version of its search engine in order to re-enter China. By failing to attend the hearing, Google avoided awkward questions about those plans, but also lost any chance to defend itself. | Looming over the hearing were recent reports that Google is working on a censored version of its search engine in order to re-enter China. By failing to attend the hearing, Google avoided awkward questions about those plans, but also lost any chance to defend itself. |
| Meanwhile Facebook, which is no less interested in capturing the Chinese market, got the opportunity to appear principled and transparent by comparison. “We would only operate in a country if we could do so in keeping with our values, and that includes China,” Sandberg said. | Meanwhile Facebook, which is no less interested in capturing the Chinese market, got the opportunity to appear principled and transparent by comparison. “We would only operate in a country if we could do so in keeping with our values, and that includes China,” Sandberg said. |
| This liveblog got under way a little late, so we missed some key exchanges between the lawmakers and tech executives. | This liveblog got under way a little late, so we missed some key exchanges between the lawmakers and tech executives. |
| Ron Wyden, one of the more tech-savvy senators, spent most of his time discussing the nexus between personal data and national security, saying “personal data is now the weapon of choice for political influence campaigns” and charging tech companies to “not make it easier for our adversaries to seize these weapons and use them against us”. | Ron Wyden, one of the more tech-savvy senators, spent most of his time discussing the nexus between personal data and national security, saying “personal data is now the weapon of choice for political influence campaigns” and charging tech companies to “not make it easier for our adversaries to seize these weapons and use them against us”. |
| Wyden also pressed Sandberg on Facebook ads designed to suppress voting – the Trump campaign reportedly targeted African American voters with messages designed to discourage them from voting in the 2016 election. | Wyden also pressed Sandberg on Facebook ads designed to suppress voting – the Trump campaign reportedly targeted African American voters with messages designed to discourage them from voting in the 2016 election. |
| Sandberg said “that activity has no place on Facebook”, but did not provide any specifics of how Facebook could detect or prohibit such ads, or whether they are technically against the company’s terms of service. | Sandberg said “that activity has no place on Facebook”, but did not provide any specifics of how Facebook could detect or prohibit such ads, or whether they are technically against the company’s terms of service. |
| Sandberg also struggled with pointed questions from Kamala Harris, who referenced a 2017 ProPublica report on how Facebook polices content, which revealed that the company treats white men as a protected class but not black children. | Sandberg also struggled with pointed questions from Kamala Harris, who referenced a 2017 ProPublica report on how Facebook polices content, which revealed that the company treats white men as a protected class but not black children. |
| The distinction in question stemmed from Facebook’s awkward efforts to define protected classes based on certain characteristics (gender) but not others (age). | The distinction in question stemmed from Facebook’s awkward efforts to define protected classes based on certain characteristics (gender) but not others (age). |
| “That was badly written policy,” Sandberg said. She claimed that Facebook “fixed it” after publication of the article, but could not provide details. | “That was badly written policy,” Sandberg said. She claimed that Facebook “fixed it” after publication of the article, but could not provide details. |
| Sandberg is now off the hook, but Dorsey has another hearing today. He’ll testify before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce in a hearing that is likely to focus more on partisan political issues than the one that just concluded. | Sandberg is now off the hook, but Dorsey has another hearing today. He’ll testify before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce in a hearing that is likely to focus more on partisan political issues than the one that just concluded. |
| In his prepared remarks for the House committee, which were published yesterday, Dorsey emphasized Twitter’s neutrality, saying: “Twitter does not use political ideology to make any decisions, whether related to ranking content on our service or how we enforce our rules. We believe strongly in being impartial, and we strive to enforce our rules impartially. We do not shadowban anyone based on political ideology.” | In his prepared remarks for the House committee, which were published yesterday, Dorsey emphasized Twitter’s neutrality, saying: “Twitter does not use political ideology to make any decisions, whether related to ranking content on our service or how we enforce our rules. We believe strongly in being impartial, and we strive to enforce our rules impartially. We do not shadowban anyone based on political ideology.” |
| The House committee gets underway at 1:30pm Eastern, and we’ll be following along. | The House committee gets underway at 1:30pm Eastern, and we’ll be following along. |
| The hearing is adjourned. | The hearing is adjourned. |
| My quick take: This was a fairly congenial hearing, with senators largely emphasizing their desire to work together with tech companies, and Dorsey and Sandberg taking pains to emphasize how much they want to cooperate as well. | My quick take: This was a fairly congenial hearing, with senators largely emphasizing their desire to work together with tech companies, and Dorsey and Sandberg taking pains to emphasize how much they want to cooperate as well. |
| The absence of Google provided a convenient whipping boy for the senators, and a contrast for Dorsey and Sandberg, who got to look transparent and accountable in contrast. | The absence of Google provided a convenient whipping boy for the senators, and a contrast for Dorsey and Sandberg, who got to look transparent and accountable in contrast. |
| Ultimately, there was not much new information, but it was interesting to see Sandberg and Dorsey engage on this stage for the first time. | Ultimately, there was not much new information, but it was interesting to see Sandberg and Dorsey engage on this stage for the first time. |